


I could be quite naive, happy in our make believe

by twinSky



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Courtship, Happy Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining, Polyamory, eventually, or more accurately: shuichi is oblivious and ouma and kiibo are fucking trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 09:50:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13121250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twinSky/pseuds/twinSky
Summary: Maybe they got his talent wrong, maybe he isn’t the Ultimate Detective, maybe he’s actually just the Ultimate Unlucky Student. After all, it has to be some cruel twist of fate that his first two crushes are not just taken, but dating each other.-It all works out.





	I could be quite naive, happy in our make believe

**Author's Note:**

> It's almost... weird to post something for this fandom that isn't my chapter 5 au actually 
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> Anyways this 9k+ monstrosity was written for [Jones](https://fryinhawaiian.tumblr.com/) for the [ndrv3 winter exchange](https://ndrv3winterexchange.tumblr.com)!!! Who asked for kiiboumasai (is there a ship name for this, I dont know) among other ships and a hope's peak au! I had a blast writing this, even though it turned out at over double the length I had initially planned, mostly because I kept adding scenes I had not initially planned for, I really got carried away with this.
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> Warnings: I didn't put this in the tags, because it's technically not really anything? But Shuichi does think it is. There is a brief moment of what Shuichi thinks is cheating, even though he is told it isn't, and it is quickly cleared up (like 2 paragraphs later or something). Just thought I'd mention it regardless.

“And then Iruma-chan lifted Hoshi-kun by the shoulders to which he reacted rather poorly so he…” The rest of Akamatsu’s story is lost to him as the door to their classroom slams open.

Shuichi already knows what’s about to happen, and so does everyone else, which is why no one but him reacts to the loud sound other than a couple jerks of surprise. He brings his gaze up to the door and it is three seconds of nothing before Ouma bursts into the room hand outstretched as he points.

“Good morning my dear sweet darling Kiibo-chan,” A pause, “And the rest of you too I guess!”

Shuichi follows the pointed finger all the way to a thoroughly blushing Kiibo, already burying his face into his hands with a low moan as Amami laughs beside him. Ouma laughs at the reaction, which is enough to snap Kiibo out his embarrassed daze and begin to scold Ouma on appropriate behaviour and that just because they’re dating it doesn’t mean he needs to enter the classroom every day in the exact same way every morning and disrupt the class.

“Aww, but then I don’t get to see your adorably flustered face first thing in the morning!” Ouma pouts and then laughs when Kiibo’s expression turns indignant.  “Hey, no need for that.”

Kiibo hums, “I suppose you’re right.”

Ouma opens his mouth to say something, but whatever it is, is lost as Kiibo leans down and gives him a small peck on the lips. His eyes widen, face turning a ~~cute, adorable~~ bright shade of red as Kiibo ushers him into his seat and the two begin a quiet conversation Shuichi cannot hear no matter how hard he tries.

His chest aches in jealously, longing, both, or something else he’s not sure of.

“Saihara-kun,” Akamatsu says and he blinks, realising he had spaced out on her.

“I’m sorry,” He says immediately, waving his arms frantically in front of him, “I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

She shakes her head, her eyes sympathetic as she flicks her eyes over to where Kiibo and Ouma are seated leaning into each other. “Hey, you’ll be fine,” she insists, one hand against his arm before she takes it back bring both arms up bent and fists clenched, “And if you ever want to talk about it I’m here for you, always!”

He laughs, painful and awkward as he pulls his hat down further, “Thank you Akamatsu-san.”

“No problem.” She beams, though he can still see the worry in her eyes. He’s almost grateful when their teacher arrives and she’s forced to turn out as class begins.

He sighs, looking over one last time to see Kiibo back in his seat, Iruma teasing him about something or another and Ouma already looking bored about the prospect of their teachers droning.

Maybe they got his talent wrong, maybe he isn’t the Ultimate Detective, maybe he’s actually just the Ultimate Unlucky Student. After all, it has to be some cruel twist of fate that his first two crushes are not just taken, but dating each other.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

Shuichi meets Ouma first out of every one in their class.

He’s standing at outside the gates of Hope’s Peak staring up the school in all its glory. He’s hesitant to enter, still trying to grasp the fact that he really was scouted to come here. That someone looked at him and what he was able to do and thought he was good enough to be chosen.

His nerves mount at the thought and he begins to fiddle with his sleeves, maybe he should just go home? His uncle would understand, he was so very proud of him for accepting the invitation but actually being faced with the decision he maybe –

“Hey hat boy are you just goanna stand there all day?” A voice says, snapping him out his thoughts and he looks to see a boy in a checkered scarf and… a straitjacket? When the other notices Shuichi’s attention on him he grins wide, “Well, are ya?”

“Um,” He says, eyes flicking to the side and wondering if it’s too late to make an escape, “No.”

“That’s great, we’re the same age aren’t we?” The boy says, reaching out and grabbing one of Shuichi’s wrists, “And you aren’t wearing the school uniform, _so_ I bet that means you’re an ultimate just like me starting today, we’re probably in the same class and everything.”

Shuichi blinks bewildered, and when the boy tugs on his wrist as he begins walking forward he can’t help but follow. He looks at the boy curiously, kind of impressed at his deductions if he’s being honest.

“Of course, that was all a lie, I don’t know a single thing about you maybe you’re just some weirdo that lurks outside the school. Or some deranged talentless loser who’s jealous of all of us who go here and you’re planning to kill me as we speak! Oh my and here I was trying to extend a helping hand to a boy in need and instead I’m about to get brutally murdered in some whacky way so complex that they’ll need to hold an extensive and needlessly complicated trial to figure out who did it.”

“I’m not, I wouldn’t ever _kill_ someone,” Shuichi says, stumbling as the others pace quickens rushing them off somewhere.

Abruptly the other stops and he almost trips at the sudden lack of momentum. He twirls on his feel, leaning in close and Shuichi is amazed at how deeply purple they are, wide and shining with amusement.

“Well duh, that was a lie too! You look like you wouldn’t hurt a fly and a _supreme_ judge of character. If anything, you should be wary of the guy who just dragged you halfway across the campus! What if I was leading you to some drug deal or a kidnapping.” The boy gasps, all fake shock and surprise, “You shouldn’t trust so easy, tsk tsk.”

There’s an almost sinister gleam in his eyes then, and yet Shuichi doesn’t detect anything even remotely malicious from the other, “I, I am not trusting you. You said you were a good judge of character; I would like to think I’m one too, and you seem like a good person to me.”

The boy pauses at that, face blank as he tilts his head to the side an action his awful head decides looks rather cute. There’s silence after that, and it stretches for so long he decides he must have horribly fumbled this conversation up somehow just as the other’s grin spreads wide across his face.

“I see, I see, you’re going to be a very interesting person,” The boy says, nodding his head sagely, “I guess I can tell you who I am then –Kokichi Ouma, Ultimate Supreme Leader, head of an organization that boasts over 10,000 members.”

He is overcome with the urge to ask more about it, that can’t possibly be true but if he’s lying he hides it well. Though, given most of what the boy has said he’s not entirely surprised. Regardless, “I’m Shuichi Saihara the” – he pauses, tugging his hat lower – “the Ultimate Detective.”

There are stars in Ouma’s eyes, it’s not true obviously but Shuichi can find no other way to describe the way his eyes seem to positively sparkle at the admission. He feels his face grow warm, it’s not really that amazing is it?

“Saihara-chan!” Ouma says and he feels his blush worsen at the suffix, “I’ll see you around, but don’t forget about little ol’ me.” The other finishes with a wink, disappearing into the door beside them.

His heart feels like it might jump out of his chest and he stares down at his wrist where the other had been holding him and then up at the door that he disappeared behind. The door to the gym, where the entrance ceremony was being held.

He doesn’t think he could forget about him if he tried; the other is odd, a mystery, and in the brief moment they just interacted for Shuichi can’t deny that the other caught his attention quite easily.

Shuichi takes a breath, just moments ago he was thinking about leaving and never coming back and now he’s here by what is seemingly some random person’s flight of fancy. Still, if he were one to believe in signs perhaps this is one and he takes the small amount of courage and pushes the door open.

Ouma is nowhere he can spot him so he takes a stand at the nearest empty spot he can find, next to a blonde girl who turns to enthusiastically greet him the moment she notices him. Her eyes are purple, just like Ouma he notes, but hers are shades lighter.

She grins widely and extends a hand towards him, “I’m Kaede Akamatsu and my talent is the Ultimate Pianist!”

He hesitantly shakes her hand and it’s the start of the best friendship he’ll ever have.

 

-

 

Ouma was right, they are in the same class and when he walks in through the door the first time the other practically tackles him to the ground with a loud exclamation of “Hello my beloved Saihara-chan!”

His head spins as he feels Ouma’s weight press against him and his response is barely heard over the other blonde in their class laughing so hard she sounds like she’s in pain. Its day one and half his classmates are already laughing at him, his hat flew off with Ouma’s attack and he wishes he had it to bury his face into and try to forget the whole situation.

Whether by some blessing of fate or Ouma noticing his discomfort; the other backs off with a laugh, and Shuichi scrambles to his feet grabbing his hat and hiding himself in it. Akamatsu steps in front of him and scolds the other on respecting boundaries while the rest of the class files in and stares at the odd scene before them. Shuichi sinks into his seat and wishes the ground would swallow him whole when Ouma catches his gaze in the midst of Akamatsu’s scolding and gives him a sly grin and a wink. In fact, every interaction with the other thereafter leaves him feeling like a stuttering mess of a person. Well, worse than usual anyways.

It’s a completely mature decision when he takes to mildly avoiding the other. Or, at the very least, it’s a decision that makes his heart feel less like it’s going to give out on him even if Akamatsu has taken to laughing at him every time he makes a hurried exit.

Maybe he can interact with the other like a normal human when his feelings stop ruining every attempt at conversation with Ouma. He’s not sure what Ouma thought of him when they first met other than apparently being ‘interesting’ but he can’t be thinking anything too charitable about him now.

Shuichi doubts he could have ever worked up the courage to confess, but it seems especially fruitless now and he writes off his first – still very much present – crush for the doomed failure it was probably always meant to be.

 

 

-

 

 

If his crush on Ouma was a sudden overwhelming force, impossible to ignore or dissuade much like the boy himself, his crush on Kiibo is something much more gradual, soft and unassuming until it has him gripped in its clutches.

He doesn’t interact much with the other at first, though they both get stuck doing a lot of the menial tasks in class. Shuichi because he doesn’t want to be a bother with saying otherwise but Kiibo seems to just have the innate desire to want to be helpful for everyone. It’s an admirable trait, Shuichi can’t help but think every time the other is the first to volunteer to run down to the principal’s office or help collect worksheets.

They run in different circles, the other is close to Amami, Iruma, and Gonta most notably. Though he and Ouma seem to have some kind of odd teasing relationship –Momota has berated Ouma for bullying Kiibo before but from what Shuichi can tell it’s mostly mutual bantering and neither ever seems truly offended by it.

The first most memorable he has of the other is an accident. He’s in a rush, trying to carry all the music sheets one of the teachers had given him over to Kaede’s lab. She has a performance coming up and had wanted to try some newer pieces that aren’t already present in the rather expansive library her lab. The stack is large enough to obscure his vision, but he hadn’t been too worried considering the late hour meant most students had already vacated the building and headed out into town or back to their dorms for the day.

Most doesn’t mean all however, and he crashes right into someone he can’t see, apologises flying out of his mouth before he even hits the ground.

“It’s alright!” A familiar voice calls out through the flutter of paper. “Do not worry Saihara-kun, it’s no big deal, let me help you pick these up.”

“Oh, Kiibo-kun, I’m sorry I didn’t expect anyone to still be in the halls.” He says, carefully but quickly picking up the scattered pieces of music sheets, “You don’t have to help me, it’s my fault and I’m sure you have more important things you have to do and –”

“It is no problem.” Kiibo interrupts firmly, “I have plans with Iruma-san later today but I can certainly take a moment to help you pick up some paper Saihara-kun. We’re classmates and friends, I can’t just ignore that.”

Shuichi blinks, somewhat bemused, “Well thanks then, I suppose. I appreciate the help.”

“It’s no problem,” He repeats, though this time instead of looking firm he smiles so bright it looks like he’s glowing.

He mutters a response, looking back to the ground and picking up the sheets around him and from the shuffling of paper he can hear Kiibo has taken to do the same.

Their hands touch on the last page, in a manner reminiscent of one of the mangas Akamatsu has borrowed from Shirogane. His hand is on the bottom, so despite how he wants to just rip his hand away he waits for Kiibo to remove his first as to not seem rude. Except, except moments pass and Kiibo’s hand remains still.

“… Kiibo-kun?” He asks hesitantly, looking up to meet Kiibo’s pensive expression.

“Your hand is very warm Saihara-kun, it’s quite the pleasant feeling.” Kiibo states and screw his previous thought he pulls his hand back towards him and grips it close as his face flushes.

“Excuse me?” He nearly shrieks.

Kiibo’s face changes from pensive to embarrassed, cheeks flaming as he raises his hands apprehensively, “I must apologize! That was an odd thing to say wasn’t it I was just rather amazed by how warm they felt but that really is no excuse.” He reaches out to grab the last piece of sheet music and hands it to him before leaving quickly down the nearest staircase.

He is left bewildered and flustered on the ground, confused as to what just happened. He walks to Akamatsu’s lab in an almost daze and her near annoyed pacing transforms to concern the moment she lays eyes on him.

“Hey, what happened, are you okay?”

He hands her the papers and feels their hands brush together. Hers are also warm, but Shuichi doesn’t feel like holding onto them for a weirdly long amount of time and from what he can tell that sentiment is returned. So what could Kiibo notice that neither of them seem to?

“I’m not sure?” He says seriously, and Akamatsu raises an eyebrow at him but otherwise lets the topic drop.

She sits at the grand piano at the center of her lab, placing one of the music sheets he brought over upon it and begins to play. He sits on one of the nearby stools, closing his eyes as he lets the music wash over him.

She really is so very talented.

 

-

 

He and Kiibo did not talk much before that incident, but he seems to hover around after. The next morning he greets Shuichi with a riceball and a deeply apologetic expression that he tries to wave off. It doesn’t work and Shuichi is left dealing with him until Iruma arrives and drags him away to talk about some experiment while she laughs.

He’s a more constant presence after that and Shuichi can’t say he minds. They’re about three months into the semester and aside from Akamatsu he can’t really say he’s made much headway in the way of friends. Ouma might’ve been one in the beginning but he doesn’t think it counts much anymore, and Momota is friendly enough but he feels a bit awkward around him if Akamatsu isn’t there to mitigate the other’s enthusiasm.

So when he asks if he can sit with them at lunch he readily agrees, and when they’re both stuck after school cleaning they spend the time having pleasant conversation. It’s an easy sort of friendship that Shuichi has never really had, even Akamatsu was a good while of him being awkward and weird while she stuck by him anyways. It’s nice.

 

School has just ended and he’s halfway out the building before he remembers he left the casefile his uncle let him borrow in his desk. It’s not urgent, just a minor case his uncle said he wanted his opinion on but leaving such confidential work over the weekend at school leaves him feeling uneasy.

The door to the classroom is wide open, which is odd it should be locked by now, but when he enters Kiibo is inside still sweeping.

“You’re still here? By yourself? Who was on duty with you today?”

Kiibo startles at the sudden sound, the broom nearly flying from his hands.

“Saihara-kun, you startled me!” He says, readjusting his grip on the broom as he commences sweeping again, “I was supposed to be doing this with Ouma-kun but he stayed for about 10 minutes before jumping out the window,” Kiibo sighs and then straightens up when he notices his expression, “He’s fine! He landed just fine, Ouma’s like an acrobat or something sometimes I swear.”

“Ah,” He says, not sure how to respond to that.

“No need to worry, Ouma’s always doing… odd things, I’m sure you know how it is.” He really doesn’t, Ouma still gives him the occasional enthusiastic greeting, but months of awkwardness have really put a downer on their never really there friendship.

Doesn’t stop him from still having a crush on him though.

“Anyways,” He replies instead, “I was just coming to pick up something I left but I’d feel bad leaving you here to do all the work.”

“You can leave it to me! I have it under control.” Kiibo says proudly.

“Still, we’re classmates right, friends? And friends help each other out,” he insists, parroting the sentiment the other had told him.

Kiibo blinks, recognition dawning as he nods heartily and acquiesces to his demand to help. Kiibo had already done quite a bit of cleaning before he got here, so they make quick work of the rest of it and are done in a short amount of time.

He sighs, looking around the room for anything they might have missed and when he doesn’t notice anything out of place heads to his desk to grab what he came here for in the first place. He takes the casefile out of his desk and places it neatly into his messenger bag.

“Thank you very much for your help Saihara-kun!” Kiibo says, placing a hand on his shoulder, “I know it’s the last day of school for the week and you probably had someplace to be.”

“N-no, I didn’t, it was no trouble really it didn’t even take that long.” He has to drag the words out of his mouth since all of the sudden they seem to be not working.

Kiibo smiles, eyes bright and Shuichi feels dizzy, “Nevertheless I really do appreciate it, but I have to run now the Professor is waiting for me, I hope you don’t mind me leaving you to lock up.”

“It’s fine,” he manages to say.

“Have a good weekend!” Kiibo says cheerily as he offers a weak wave back.

The room is quiet with Kiibo’s departure and the one thought ringing through his head is how _warm_ Kiibo’s hand had felt on his shoulder. How it still feels slightly tingly now. Is this what Kiibo meant when he had called him warm before?

He stands there for a while, trying to process the warmth on his shoulder and his rapidly beating heart.

“Fuck,” he says to the air. He has two crushes; he doesn’t even know when this one happened.

Why is this his life?

 

-

 

He calls Akamatsu on the train over to his uncle’s office and she laughs at his predicament, he tries to stress the seriousness of it all but she just laughs harder.

“I’m sure it’ll all end up fine,” She says, voice tinny through his speakers but still notably cheery, “Look at it this way, now you have double the chances of having a successful crush. What are the chances they both say no?”

“Well,” he begins, mind already playing through every possibly awful scenario.

“Nope, nuhuh, don’t want to hear it!” She says cutting him off, and his objections die in his throat. “Repeat after me, everything’s goanna turn out okay!”

“Everything’s goanna turn out okay,” He says, almost as enthusiastic as her and garners a couple of odd looks for his troubles.

“Great, now I’ll talk to you later because I’m pretty sure your stop is coming up.” And just as she finishes the speaker announces that his stop is indeed coming up.

He laughs as he wishes her goodbye, and feels almost good about the whole thing.

-

So of course, two weeks later Ouma loudly announces to the class that he and Kiibo are now dating, and Kiibo follows it up with an agreement when half the class tells him to stop joking around.

When they’re looks are still slightly suspicious, Kiibo sighs and pulls Ouma closer to give him a short but sweet peck on the cheek. Ouma pushes him away almost immediately, flushing just the slightest shade of red but Shuichi can notice the small but soft smile that gently curves up on Ouma’s face.

The looks of suspicion turn to loud cheers as Iruma and Momota pick up Ouma, Gonta doing the same with Kiibo, and parade them around the room as the rest of the class shouts congratulations. It’s a bit over the top but Ouma seems to be loving every second of it despite Kiibo’s clearly embarrassed demeanor.

He feels a tug on his sleeve and looks over to see Akamatsu and almost winces at her expression. “I’m happy for them,” he says. And he really is, he likes both of them and wants them to be happy, and this is what makes them happy.

“It’s still all right to feel sad about it,” She replies, a determined frown on her face.

“Really, I am” He insists and Akamatsu gives a sigh so longsuffering and overdramatic it makes him crack a smile.

“Fine, I’ll drop it, but I’m still here if you need me!”

“Of course, I don’t doubt that at all.”

“Good, I’d have to whack you upside the head if you did.” That makes him break out into laughter, and Akamatsu grins as if she’s accomplished something.

He’s fine, really, it makes sense that this is how it end ups working out.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

Ouma and he haven’t spoken much in a while, at least not one on one like they sometimes did at the beginning of the school year. Yet, as of late Shuichi feels like he’s popping up everywhere. In the library when he’s trying to study, on the way to the few times he actually bothers to visit his Ultimate Lab, seems to show up randomly when he runs errands in town. Ouma always acts like it’s a coincidence but Shuichi knows the other well enough to know that this many times can’t be anything less than planned.

He knows that much, but he’s not sure what it means. Their almost friendship had petered off and though Shuichi was never cold towards the other his crush had made him even more awkward to the point Shuichi had decided not talking to him was a better alternative to looking like an idiot.

He’s not sure what Ouma interpreted the situation as, but he had let it happen and never seemed to disgruntled by it. He’s not sure what to make of what’s happening now. But it’s nice, the other was always pleasant to talk to and it’s not often that he can talk to someone that can run logical loops around him.

What he does know, is that it’s slightly easier to talk to him now. His crush is still very much there, but knowing that Ouma is already dating someone is almost a relief in a sense. Who cares if he’s making a fool of himself, it’s not like Ouma’s single to take notice of him.

At least, that’s how he assumes it should be.

 

-

 

“My beloved Saihara-chan! Wait up for me wont you I ran halfway across the school just to find you.”

Shuichi startles, looking over to see Ouma bounding over to him. He stops to let the other catch up and wills his blush at the address down. Kiibo doesn’t seem to mind that he calls him that, but Shuichi isn’t sure it’s still appropriate now that he’s dating someone.

“Oh you actually stopped!” Ouma says once he catches up, “That was a lie you know, I just saw you walking past and thought how great it would be to bother you.”

“You could never be a bother to me Ouma-kun.” He says sincerely.

Ouma stares, face blank, before he grabs both of Shuichi’s hands and grins, “Wow flirting with a taken man are you? I didn’t know you we’re so bold Saihara-chan, maybe I really have misjudged you!”

“I would never,” he almost shouts, the comment smarts more than Ouma is probably aware, “Ouma-kun I would never do something so disrespectful as to try to come between the two of you when you seem so happy together. I am very happy to see that you two seem to be doing well together and I would never ruin it for such a personal agenda.”

Ouma is quiet for a second, “You really wouldn’t huh?” He finally says, but it sounds more like he’s talking to himself then to him.

“I really wouldn’t.” He confirms anyways,

He hums, leaning back away but intertwines their fingers together for a moment (a moment so quick Shuichi has to be imagining it) before backing away completely.

“I see, _I see_ ,” Ouma says, tapping a finger to his chin. “Well, I’ll be going now; it was nice talking to you my beloved!”

The amount of time he stands there for, switching between staring at the space Ouma had just vacated and his own hands, is unknown but it’s long enough for him to be startled back to attention by the ringing of the bell.

Study period is over, and their next class is beginning. He shakes his head and heads back to the classroom, he doesn’t have time to ponder whatever just happened here.

 

-

 

Ouma’s fervent renewal of their friendship aside Kiibo has also taken to acting weird around him too. Kiibo has always been friendly but aside from a hand on the shoulder or a very brief hug he is not particularly affectionate physically. It doesn’t really come up, considering Shuichi isn’t exactly a touchy-feeling person either, but he notices it with the others. He’ll accept them just fine if not gladly but he’s not one to give it out.

He knows this, so he’s not sure why it feels like lately whenever they hang out together it feels like Kiibo is making it his personal mission to invade his personal space as much as he can. An arm around his shoulder when they’re sitting side by side reading. Standing close enough to each other when they walk that their shoulders will brush together on occasion. Hugs that last just a moment too long.

It could just all be in his head, maybe he’s just hyperaware of the other since he has a crush on him, but it feels different somehow.

They’re walking to the nearby convenience store to pick up some things for everyone back at the dorms and again Kiibo is walking so close that their shoulders knock together and their hands brush against each other every couple steps.

Kiibo talks as if none of this is a problem, so Shuichi tries to ignore it to and he does such a good job of it that he doesn’t notice when they switch from just being close enough to brush to actively holding hands.

The other is still talking as if there’s no problem with what’s currently happening. Or maybe he hasn’t noticed, maybe he’s gotten used to doing this with Ouma that the habit just slipped out. If that is the case he’s not sure if he should say anything about it –maybe it would make things awkward?

Instead he tries to just remove his hand from the others grip without him noticing but he doesn’t even manage anything more than a tug before he feels Kiibo’s grip tightening against his hand.

“My hand is sort of cold Saihara-kun and you’re so warm, you don’t mind warming it up do you?” Kiibo asks, giving him a soft sort of smile that makes his heart skip a beat.

“N-no not at all, I don’t mind.” But… “Are you sure this is okay? You’re with Ouma-kun after all and this is kind of…”

“Kokichi-kun knows that we spend time together, he doesn’t mind.” Kiibo says immediately.

“I’m glad to hear that but sometimes it’s just –”

“He doesn’t mind at all that we hang out or what we do, there is no need to worry,” Kiibo repeats, and it’s not an answer to the question he’s asking but Kiibo seems to think it is so he lets the matter drop.

“If you say so.” He relents.

“I do, I am 100% confident in this so do not worry yourself about it,” Kiibo agrees, and then returns to the story he was telling before the interruption began.

Shuichi tries to listen, he really does, but his mind is stuck on how his hand practically feels like it’s burning from where they’re linked together.

It’s nice, it’s very nice, and he selfishly wishes they could do this more often before he mercilessly squashes the thought down.

 

-

 

“Happy birthday, Saihara-chan!” Ouma says, plopping a poorly wrapped present upon his desk.

“It’s not my birthday?”

“Happy friendiversary!” He corrects.

Shuichi looks over to the date, “Um, this isn’t any kind of month or week accomplishment I think, and you’ve never done this before.”

“Merry unbirthday!” He tries again, and when Shuichi opens his mouth again Ouma places his finger against his lips, “Hey just take it, don’t friends give each other stuff?”

“I suppose, but I don’t have anything for you so I’d feel bad –”

“You think I need anything from you? Someone’s self-involved, or maybe that was a lie? Either way don’t think so hard about it it’s just a random gift.” He says and then saunters back over to Kiibo and whispers something into his hear. Kiibo swats him away and the other slinks into his seat with a laugh.

“So what is it?” Akamatsu asks, bringing his attention back to her and the gift. She wiggles her eyebrows at him and he scowls.

The wrapping is bright and purple, glitter all over it, tied together by a pretty blue bow. His assessment of it being poorly wrapped proves to be correct because the moment he unties the ribbon the entire wrapping falls apart and glitter scatters all over his desk.

“Its…” he pauses, blinks, but the present remains the same.

“Well?” Akamatsu prods.

It’s a book by an old famous detective in England. One he’s been wanting for quite a while but there weren’t many put into print so it’s practically impossible to come by and any one he can find is well beyond his price range. He opens it, thinking that maybe it’s a joke, that just the cover is the same, but, no, the whole thing is the same. It’s even one of the earliest editions where each chapter end has some additional written notes from the detective. On the back is a sticky note with a small doodle of what looks like Ouma sticking his tongue out and winking with the message “You’re welcome, Saihara-chan!”

How did he even know he wanted this? He’s absolutely sure he never mentioned this to other, or anyone for that matter. He thinks it might’ve come up once in a conversation with Kiibo once but that doesn’t really explain why Ouma would know about it. It was a one-off moment and there’s no reason for Kiibo to mention it to the other even if he did remember.

Maybe it’s a coincidence? However, he can’t seem to shake the feeling it isn’t.

“Hello? Earth to Saihara-kun, what’s the present?”

“Oh, it’s a book I’ve really been wanting,” He says, still staring at the book “ _Really_ been wanting.” He mutters, somewhat in awe.

“Well that’s nice of him!”

He agrees, turning to look over at Ouma who is already staring at him at grins slyly when he notices Shuichi’s gaze. He blushes, turning back to the book.

Nice, he affirms mentally, just nice, it’s what friends do.

When he looks back Akamatsu is laughing quietly into her palm and refuses to tell him what exactly is so funny.

 

-

 

“Saihara-kun, would you mind helping me with something today after class?” Kiibo asks him during lunch, he seems oddly at ease considering Ouma is leaning against him as he sleeps, snoring just loud enough to be audible. It looks sweet, precious, seeing them so casually intimate with each other and he feels something that definitely isn’t jealously but he can’t quite place at the sight.

He fidgets, and focuses on a space just behind Kiibo when he responds, “Yeah sure, no problem!”

“Fantastic!” Kiibo says, just loud enough that it Ouma wakes up, sitting up straight as he blinks blearily.

“What happened?”

“Saihara-kun agreed to help me out today.” Kiibo says cheerily and Ouma perks up immediately.

“How exciting!” He says, leaning over to pat Shuichi on the cheek, “Have fun on your date tonight boys!”

“It’s not a date,” he says weakly as Ouma stands and leaves, heading over to where Amami and Shirogane are sitting.

“I’ll pick you up after class,” Kiibo says after a moment, and then switches topics to something else.

It’s not a date, it can’t be.

-

He repeats the phrase like a mantra as he watches Kiibo flit around the kitchen in the Home Ec room.

Kiibo had apparently wanted his help taste testing some recipe he found online. He’s pretty sure his is something he’d be better off doing with Ouma, especially considering the table he’s seated at has a table cloth thrown across it and is set up vaguely like they’re at a restaurant. The whole thing seems somewhat romantic but Ouma knew this is what they were doing, had even told them to have a good time.

So this is just a friendly thing. Shuichi was free and Ouma wasn’t and Kiibo just likes to be fancy. He’s sure if Tojou were the one doing this the table would be done up in an even more elaborate manner and she definitely wouldn’t have meant anything by it so clearly he’s just reading into this too much.

“Sorry for the wait, Saihara-kun. I hope it’s not too bad I’ve never tried anything quite like this.” Kiibo says, placing a plate in front of him. It’s a simple dish, but the presentation is elegant, like something from a cooking magazine.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, but what made you want to try this out?”

Kiibo flushes at the question, rubbing the back of his head, “No reason, I just thought it would be fun to try out something new, and it’s nice to share things with others and we’re close so I thought it would be a good idea.”

“Thank you for inviting me then, I’m really glad we’re friends!”

“… Right, friends,” Kiibo agrees, smile looking slightly strained, “Enough about that, let me tell you something Amami-kun told me about his travels the other day it was really interesting actually.”

Shuichi listens attentively as he eats, and it’s actually surprisingly tasty and Kiibo practically puffs up in pride when he mentions it. It’s a nice dinner, though the effect is ruined when one of the upper years throws the door open.

“Are y’all done in here me, Chihiro and Ishimaru booked this room for 5 and we’d like to get started.”

Shuichi jumps, and then practically falls out of his seat when he notices their hands have been intertwined the whole time.

“Thank you very much for the d-dinner Kiibo-kun it was lovely but I think I’ll be l-leaving now.”

Kiibo opens his mouth to speak but whatever he was going to say is lost to Shuichi as he bolts out of the room shoving past the taller male standing in the doorway.

What just happened? That was... that wasn’t a date it couldn’t have been so what in god’s name just happened here.

 

-

 

It keeps happening. Again and again, the two of them hover around him with sweet words, and               hanging out and the occasional gift and sweet smiles and he feels like he’s going insane. They both have to know what the other is doing, and neither seems offended by it so it can’t be what it feels like it is but this isn’t how friends act.

Sure he isn’t the most experienced in the friendship area but he knows that much. But even if it isn’t what is he supposed to do about it? Is he supposed to do anything? He likes both of them, and if this weird but pleasant friendship is what he can have with them then he doesn’t want to lose it. Though he’s not sure how much more of this his heart can take.

 

-

 

“Akamatsu-san,” he says weakly as she raises an amused eyebrow at him.

“Yes dear?” She responds playfully and he groans, burying his face in his hands.

“Are you ever just confused, at a loss for what to do? Like your life is spiraling out of control?”

Predictably, she laughs, “Hey calm down, we’re teenagers the world isn’t ending any time soon no need for the raincloud.”

“But…” He protests.

“Nope,” she says, putting a hand out, “remember what I told you? That everything will work out just fine?”

“Yeah…” It hadn’t, though it’s better now.

“Well trust me on that, I know what I’m talking about.”

He sighs, “If you’re sure.”

“Always am!” She agrees cheerily, patting him on the shoulder, “Now come on you promised me lunch.”

Everything will be just fine, he repeats, just like she had told him to before. Maybe this time it’ll actually work.

 

-

 

Ouma corners him in an empty classroom, he’s not sure how they ended up here but what he does know is that the other sure can be imposing when he wants to. Despite being half a foot shorter it feels like Ouma is looming over him.

“Ouma-kun do you need something?” He asks, trying not to appear as off-kilter as he feels.

“You know,” Ouma replies, apparently ignoring his question, “As a supreme leader I’m used to subtle missions, misdirection, and having to take things slow but sometimes you need to take a more forward approach. Sometimes there’s nothing more efficient than just being straight up in what you want.”

“O-Ouma-kun I’m not sure I understand what you’re getting at here,” He says, taking a step back, and then another when Ouma follows him forward.

“That’s the problem Shuichi-chan, you really aren’t getting it.” Ouma says, eyes narrowed and grin sly and Shuichi thinks he might faint.

“You called me by my first name Ouma-kun,” He says faintly and his heart rate rockets when he feels his back hit the wall and Ouma continues moving forward.

“I did!” Ouma agrees, rising up on his to stand on his toes and his face is so close and Shuichi’s knees feel so weak. “Don’t panic about this too much, it’s a-okay with the both of us.”

He doesn’t even get to ask what the other is talking about before Ouma tugs him down and presses their lips together.

Ouma’s lips are chapped, and he can taste the grape chapstick he has on, but the sensation is still nice; warm and just for the moment Shuichi forgets the situation and loses himself in it. It’s just as good, if not better, than he had imagined it would be and his arms rise unconsciously to grip Ouma’s shoulders and pull him in closer. The other makes a pleased sound and Shuichi feels his lips quirk up at the nouse.

Then the door swings open and reality comes crushing down on him. He pushes Ouma away, covering his mouth with one of his hands as he slides down the wall.

_God, Oh God what did I just do._

It felt so nice and he wants to do it again and fuck he’s an awful person isn’t he.

“Kokichi-kun I told you _not_ to do this it would be too much at once.” Comes Kiibo’s voice and Shuichi chokes, it’s bad enough someone walked in on them but Kiibo? How can he ever look at him in the face again?

“We’ve been at this for over a month and he still hasn’t caught on, I thought it would speed things up.” Ouma responds, voice casual as if he hadn’t just been caught cheating on his boyfriend.

“What you’ve done is throw him into a panic attack.” Kiibo says, and he wants to argue, he’s not having a panic attack he’s just extremely overwhelmed and he _might_ have one soon but not now.

“I _told_ him not to panic before I kissed him. I told him that we were _both_ okay with this it’s not my fault he didn’t listen.” Ouma argues, though even though his near panic he can tell the other sounds almost regretful.

“Because you’re just so trustworthy. The most honest person in our class.” Kiibo says, kneeling down in front of him and ignoring Ouma’s indignant shout of ‘hey’.

“I’m sorry.” He says immediately and Kiibo shakes his head at the apology.

“You don’t need to be, this perhaps wasn’t the best way to go about it but Kokichi-kun is right. Our other methods weren’t working out so maybe now is the time to be direct.”

“Ouma-kun said the same thing, but I don’t get it.” He replies after a moment, panic subsiding as he realises that Kiibo is neither upset with him or even offended. Ouma’s words from before come floating back, had he really been okay with this?

“We, uh,” his face heats and Ouma snickers from behind him, “we know that the two of us are dating. But we both also like you, and I hope it is not too presumptuous to assume that you like the both of us as well? So we were hoping we could all date together, we were trying to be a bit subtle about it, to court you so to say but you weren’t catching on despite out best efforts.”

“Yep,” Ouma cuts in, popping the p, “for a detective you’ve been _super_ oblivious about this. It’s almost shameful.” He says, and then laughs when Kiibo shoves him for the comment.

“You’ve been… flirting with me, both of you?” He breathes, and then mouths the words again as if it will make it make any more sense.

“Have been for the past months, thanks for finally catching on.” Ouma says blandly, leaning down to pat him on the cheek and Shuichi is in too much shock to say anything about that.

“I have.” He argues faintly, “I’ve noticed that the two of you have been affectionate and overtly kind at times. And in theory I understood what those actions meant but I can’t…”

“You could not accept that the both of us, either of us, would be showing signs of affection to you while in a committed relationship with the other.” Kiibo finishes for him when it becomes clear he’s not going to himself.

He nods, gaining traction with Kiibo’s words. “Yes, exactly, sure I have heard of relationships like the one the two of you seem to be implying but I would never assume that that was what actually happening. I mean, that both of the people that I have had a crush on for, for months would not only be interested in me but with each other and the fact that we would all apparently be okay with it seems high unlikely. And life is rarely so kind as to allow to things to work out so perfectly for me so of course I would be skeptical of it. I thought it was just wishful thinking on my part, that I was just reading into things what I wanted to but I could never ask, what if I was wrong and ruined it. I like being friends with the both of you and if –” He stops abruptly, a finger pressing against his lips and shushing him.

He looks at it until his eyes cross and then up at the apologetic Kiibo who it belongs to.

“I think you’ve said enough.” He says, face turning red.

“Oh definitely,” Ouma agrees, and although he sounds nonchalant Shuichi can see the faint blush on his cheeks, “‘both of the people I’ve been crushing on’, ‘all be okay with it’, if that isn’t a confession and an acceptance of our proposal than I don’t know what is.”

It’s his turn to blush then and he can’t help the low embarrassed moan that he lets out. “I do,” he says, voice shaking, “I do like the both of you, I have for months and if you’ll,” he hiccups, and with muted horror realises he’s crying, “ _shit_.”

“Hey, Saihara-kun,” Kiibo says, “Would you mind if I kissed you?”

He blinks, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks at the action, and the question seems almost surreal. Just moments ago Ouma was kissing him, and even less than that the both of them are trying to tell him that they like him too and want him to join in on their relationship.

He nods, the action feels like both acceptance and allowance at once.

Kiibo smiles, soft and warm and the kiss feels just the same. It’s sweet, and he feels like laughing when he feels Kiibo brush away the tears from his eyes, instead he leans forward pressing their foreheads together. When they break he feels like he can breathe again, and then he actually does laugh.

“Did you know?” He asks as the two of them pull him up to his feet, “That when you’re dreaming most of the time you’ll have too many or too little fingers. I have ten, so I’m not dreaming, probably.”

“Wow, any more I riveting trivia Shuichi-chan?” Ouma asks and it is only the fact that the two of them are holding each of his hands that keep him from falling when he trips.

“You called me by my first name again.” He says, eyeing a grinning Ouma from the side.

“We’re dating now my beloved, why wouldn’t I?” Maybe because every time he hears it he feels like his heart might implode.

“Kokichi-kun is correct, if you’re okay with it then I too would like to call you by your first name Shuichi-kun.”

“That’s fine,” he croaks, and briefly wonders if they’re trying to kill him through kindness.

“While we’re at it, you already call Kiiboy by his first name, so you should call me Kokichi-chan!”

“Absolutely not!” He says immediately, he’s sure he wouldn’t be able to get through that once without stuttering through the whole thing. “But, if it would make you happy then I’ll call you by your first name too, Kokichi-kun.”

The name feels intimate when he says it and both of them tighten their grip on his hands as if they can tell he wants to grab his hat and pull it down until he disappears. Gonta and Kiibo had insisted since day one to be called by their first names but the switch from one to the other feels momentously different.

The entire situation leaves him off-kilter for long enough that he doesn’t even notice when they reach his dorm. He stares at the dorm room, then at the two of them, and then back to the door to his room.

Ouma laughs and when he turns to question why he leans up and presses a kiss to his cheek at the same time Kiibo kisses the other one. His face flushes so fast he thinks it might make him overheat.

“Uh,” He says, the door to his room clicking open.

“We’ll talk more tomorrow when you look more like a functioning human being.” Ouma says, pushing him into his room.

“Ah,” he responds, stumbling in.

“Thank you very much for agreeing,” Kiibo chimes in, voice sincere, “we’re both very happy that you did, I hope you understand that.”

Shuichi nods listlessly, trying to get his heartbeat to calm to a moderate rate.

Ouma snickers, “Let’s go he needs a nap or something. But he’s right you know, and that’s not a lie.”

“I hope you rest well Shuichi-kun, we’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” He says after what he hopes wasn’t an inappropriately long amount of time and the door swings shut behind him with Ouma’s parting wave.

He leaves it unlocked, sends a text message to Akamatsu, and then promptly falls into his bed and passes out.

 

-

 

When he wakes up Akamatsu is seated at his desk typing away on her phone. When she notices his gaze she grins at him with a wink.

“Didn’t I tell you that it would all work out?”

He groans, throwing one of his pillows at her as he sits up, and her resulting laughter though expected is still displeasing.

“You couldn’t have possibly known that I would end up in a polyamorous relationship with the two of them. I don’t even care if you did know, because that means you watched me make an idiot of myself for over a month and said nothing about it.”

Akamatsu doesn’t answer him, but her laughter speaks for her clear enough.

“I hate you sometimes.”

“No you don’t.” She retorts.

“No, no I don’t.” He agrees.

“Look at this way, now you have double the boyfriends, you have boyfriends squared, the possibilities are limitless.”

“Stop, stop right there, that’s not what I called you here over for.”

“Oh, then why did you?”

“I don’t know,” he says, thinking of everything that happened before he got back to his room and wondering if it’s possible for the brain to short circuit.

Akamatsu hums at his reply and then begins to talk about how practice for her next performance is coming along. He lets the words wash over him, half a mind on her and her story, and half a mind on the events of this afternoon.

He just needs time to process and Akamatsu has always been good at helping him with that.

 

-

 

The next day when he exits his room he is assaulted by Ouma – by Kokichi, he mentally corrects – who latches himself onto his arm while Kiibo hands him a cup of coffee.

“I know it’s rather early, so take more time to think about it if you need to, but you’re still okay with what we talked about last night right?”

Shuichi nods readily, he’s sure of his answer now, “Absolutely, if you’ll have me than I am more than happy to accept.”

“That’s fantastic,” Kiibo says, looking almost relieved.

“Mushy stuff aside let’s _go_ , I can’t wait to see the look on Harukawa-chan’s face when she hears I have two boyfriends, it’s going to be hilarious.” Kokichi says, moving from his latched position to grab him by the hand and begin dragging him along.

The action is reminiscent to the first time they met, and just like before he lets the other lead the way easily making sure to grab Kiibo along with them. He thinks it’s a nice picture, the three of them walking hand in hand to class as Kokichi leads them along.

It’s nice, it’s more than nice, and Shuichi is amazed he actually gets to have it.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

The movie hasn’t ended yet, but Shuichi turns it off anyway, flipping the channel to a news station instead. They’ll finish it another time.

The newscaster begins to talk of some scandal with some politician but he mainly tunes it out as he focuses on his situation at the moment instead. It was supposed to be a movie marathon tonight, but Kokichi hadn’t even lasted through halfway through the second one before he had fallen asleep head cushioned in Shuichi’s lap. He runs a hand through the other’s hair smiling gently. Kiibo hadn’t lasted much longer either, all but dead to the world against Shuichi’s shoulder now, but he doesn’t really mind.

He’s happy to spend time together just the three of them no matter what they do, and there’s something quiet and peaceful about having them both of his boyfriends asleep against him. It’s enough to make him sleepy as well, though that might just be the late hour taking its toll on him.

He leans his head to side, resting it atop Kiibo’s on his shoulder, and laces one of his hands with Kokichi who though asleep grips back easily. He closes his eyes and lets the soft sounds of their breathing and the low droning of the television lull him to sleep.

He’s so very glad he let Kokichi drag him along that first day of class so long ago and convinced him knowingly or not to not back out of coming to this school. He’s not sure he ever would have found something like this if he hadn’t.

And this is something he wouldn’t give up for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> I almost feel like, writing a sequel to this, where they are actually dating, but I probably won't.
> 
> Have A Merry Almost Christmas Everyone!!!


End file.
